The present invention generally relates to an electronic control module (ECM) of an automobile, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for configuring an ECM of an automobile for a specific automobile configuration.
Automobile control functions have continued to transition from traditional mechanical and analog controls to an electronics- or microprocessor-based system of controls. For example, the operation of an automobile engine is generally controlled by a microprocessor-based engine electronic control module (ECM), which monitors a variety of input signals and generates output signals to control various components of the engine. The engine ECM can be configured to receive signals from various sensors located at the engine and drivetrain that are indicative of engine speed, fuel flow, air flow, intake pressure, throttle position, engine temperature, and the like. The engine ECM utilizes the sensor information to calculate various engine-operating parameters that are utilized to generate the output signals, which are provided as operational instructions to the engine components.
In addition to the sensor information, the ECM typically uses a collection of calibration data that customizes a generic engine ECM for a specific automobile configuration. For example, the calibration data customizes the generic ECM for variations such as engine size, vehicle dimensions, engine displacement, optional equipment, load factors, communication protocols, target market, and sensor types and positioning. The numerous variations result in a large number of calibration data sets that must be generated, configuration controlled, selected and downloaded to the ECM for proper operation of the ECM.
In order to provide the specific ECM configuration for any number of engine or automobile configurations, an ECM with a specific calibration data set is generally produced for each of the numerous variations and stored at the automobile assembly plant. Alternatively, an ECM is provided without calibration data and the specific calibration data set is downloaded to the ECM during the assembly process through a serial data link. As can be appreciated, these alternatives have undesirable consequences. For example, producing an ECM with a specific calibration data set for each of the various engine or automobile configurations results in a significant inventory of ECMs to support the assembly of an automobile that has numerous engine or automobile configurations and downloading the calibration set to an ECM during the assembly process increases the total production time.
In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for configuring an automobile ECM that minimizes inventory requirements and reduces the total production time. Furthermore, additional desirable features will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing background of the invention and following detailed description of a preferred exemplary embodiment and appended claims.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, methods and apparatus are provided for configuring an automobile electronic control module (ECM) for multiple automobile configurations. The apparatus includes a vehicle identifier identifying one of the multiple automobile configurations and a memory configured to store multiple calibration data sets, with each of the multiple calibration sets corresponding to one of the multiple automobile configurations. The apparatus also includes a processor configured to receive the vehicle identifier and select one of multiple calibration data sets based at least in part upon the vehicle identifier for execution of automobile functions controlled by the automobile ECM.